Some time ago the writer portrayed in this column (April 9, 1995), Lincoln
Beachy, an aviation pioneer from Lebanon, and his part in the advancement
of the flying machine. This week we shall recount the adventures of an automobile
pioneer from Springboro.
The Pence family has long been known as one of the first settlers
in the county, with descendants by the multitude. At this time, I shall now
attempt to write a segment on the life of Harry
E. Pence, automotive pioneer.Harry Pence
was born in Springboro, Ohio, the son of Charles N. Pence,
a prosperous farmer. At the age of 18, at the invitation of his uncle, John
Wesley Pence, he traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota, home of the latter.
John Wesley was prominently identified with the early growth
of Minneapolis, his operations including railroad and mining corporations, along
with banking and real estate enterprises. He became so engrossed in his businesses
that his health began to fail. He decided that a trip abroad would result in
a cure and he invited Harry to accompany him. They spent five
years on a leisurely trip together and made a study of Europe and the Orient.
Returning to Minneapolis, young Harry made a decision to go
into business. He foresaw a future in the transportation of commodities between
the North and the South on the Mississippi River. With capital behind him, he
purchased six rather large steamboats for both freight and passenger service,
which he operated between St. Louis and New Orleans during the winter months.
He also ran a packet line between Taylor's Falls and Stillwater during the summer
months. Two years involvement in this venture demonstrated to him that returns
were too small for larger investments. He sold out and returned to Minneapolis
where he became a member of the Board of Trade as a grain commissioner.
Just about the turn of the Twentieth Century, automobiles were beginning to
appear. They were at first looked upon as mere experiments, such as was the
first flying machine.
In June 1902, Pence attended an automobile race that was run
from Minneapolis to Lake Minneapolis and back. Apparently this created a stir
in him, and consequently he began to look upon this as a possible new venture.
He had never even owned an automobile when in 1903 he decided to go into the
business of dealing in the horseless carriage. He first made a tour of the cities
in which they were being manufactured. He carefully made a study of their construction
and decided on the Cadillac made at Detroit. He thought this machine was best
adapted for good service and durability.
That year he opened up the second dealership in the city of Minneapolis, handling
several makes of automobiles. The first year he sold 83 motorcars. His business
so expanded that afterward he had to move into a larger building into which
he made an investment of $40,000. The public considered this building as a reckless
venture at the time, and that it could later be made into a store or restaurant.
They were proved wrong.
In 1905, Pence thought the motorcar should have a two-cylinder engine. He discussed
the idea with the Cadillac people and they declined the idea. The Cadillac Company's
faith in the one-cylinder engine was one of conjecture for the future. Not to
be defeated in his idea of a larger engine, he began to look for a manufacturer
that would conform to his idea. He succeeded in bringing the makers of the Buick
machine, who had just started out in an insignificant way in Jackson, Michigan,
around to his idea.
The Buick Company agreed that a larger engine would be feasible and began building
them on an extensive scale. Pence ultimately took up this new dealership and
sales skyrocketed. His company sold at this time 29 percent of all Buicks that
were manufactured. (The Cadillac Company started the sale of two-cylinder automobiles
within two years.) Pence was possibly the first to recognize
the fact that an increase in cylinder capacity meant more power and more speed.
Harry Pence
popularized the automobile through the introduction of its use for business
purposes, a service that cannot be measured. With his endless energy, and his
capacity for dealing with large projects, he started a trend that most certainly
advanced the automobile industry to what it is today.
Again, a citizen of the County of Warren contributed much toward the evolving
of the greatest country on Earth.

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